100 Years of Barber Birthdays

There is a spate of Samuel Barber musical performances in town, to celebrate the 100 years since his birth March 9, 1910. It is difficult to imagine life without "Adagio for Strings", one of most beautiful pieces of music ever written. Barber began composing at the age of 7 and continued until he died, at the age of 70.



This was one of many recitals by two superlative musicians who happily give frequent performances in St. Louis: Peter Henderson and Bjorn Ranheim.

The Barber pieces were rich, tonal, and enormously complex tapestries of music. Bravo to Peter and Bjorn for their great generosity in sharing their time and talent with us! Happy Birthday Samuel! You live on through your music.

Another Spring Concert

Recently I attended a recital of one of the great piano performers of all time - Claude Frank. It was a difficult and demanding program that he played with artistry and precise articulation. Mr. Frank is on the faculty at Curtis Institute of Music and Yale School of Music. Clearly he loves what he is doing and has no plans to retire. He is 85 years old.

Mr. Frank's fingers flew across the keyboard with an energetic, brisk pace that left regular mortals breathless. He presented the classical music with fresh interpretations, never mind how old he or the music is! For me, in particular, time stood still with the Schubert.

Claude Frank has dedicated his life to music and loves to teach and perform. He is an inspiration to all of us. It's never too late and we're never too old to do what you love! I was privileged to meet him afterwards and I look forward to his performance next year.